Feb 26, 2023 | DFF, Statements
KUALA LUMPUR – Lawmakers from across Southeast Asia urged the new Malaysian government to show its commitment to human rights by repealing repressive laws that are too often used to criminalize government critics, including parliamentarians and human rights defenders.
“As a long time member of the opposition, we hope that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recognizes the dangers posed by overly broad and ambiguous legislation that can easily be used by those in power to target opposition politicians and human rights defenders,” ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) Chair and member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Mercy Barends, said today at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Two laws are of particular concern: the 1948 Sedition Act and the 1988 Communication and Multimedia Act. The Sedition Act can carry a punishment of three to seven years in prison for vaguely worded offenses, including acting with “seditious tendency” against the government. The former Barisan National government used the law to harass and imprison critics, including human rights defenders, academics, journalists and lawyers.
The Sedition Act has also frequently been used against opposition parliamentarians; in 2016, for example, People’s Justice Party MP and APHR member Tian Chua was sentenced to three months in prison and fined more than 400 USD after delivering a speech denouncing racism and corruption.
Meanwhile, section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act, which criminalizes online content that is “obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character”, is too vaguely worded and therefore prone to misuse.
“The new Malaysian government must live up its promises and prove its commitment to human rights by ensuring that parliamentary immunity and the right to freedom of expression for all parliamentarians are effectively upheld,” said Charles Santiago, APHR Co-Chair and former Malaysian member of parliament.
APHR Members from Indonesia and the Philippines visited Malaysia to extend their solidarity with its Co-Chair, Charles Santiago, who is facing a defamation lawsuit from influential and controversial preacher Zakir Naik.
“We express our concern over this case because, albeit it was a civil case filed by an individual, it shows one of the main risks lawmakers throughout Southeast Asia face when speaking on issues that are of public concern,” said Barends.
The targeting of opposition MPs and human rights defenders through the use of draconian laws is unfortunately not limited to Malaysia. In Myanmar, the parliament remains suspended since the military coup in February 2021 that ousted the NLD elected government. Members of the national and sub-national parliaments remain in detention, facing not only the risk of torture in prison but also possible risk of execution following the executions of four pro-democracy activists, including a former lawmaker. Most ousted parliamentarians continue their work in hiding and are at risk of detention or even death.
“Parliamentarians should be able to carry out their mandate as the people’s representatives without fear of reprisals if they say the wrong thing or offend the wrong person,” said APHR member and Malaysian member of parliament Wong Chen.
Meanwhile in the Philippines, disinformation and red-tagging campaigns against opposition parties and lawmakers continue, and it intensified ahead of the national elections, leading to widespread online threats and violence against lawmakers and their supporters.
“Lawmakers who have criticized the government have also faced trumped-up and politically-motivated charges, including APHR Board Member Walden Bello, who faces cyber-libel charges, and Senator Leila De Lima, who has been unjustly detained since 2017 on absurd drug charges. Governments and parliaments throughout Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, should learn from the Philippines, and work to repeal repressive laws to ensure that this kind of persecution against lawmakers do not occur,” said Teddy Baguilat, Jr., APHR Board Member and former Philippines member of parliament.
Nov 9, 2020 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA – Malaysia’s new government must make good on promises to repeal the Sedition Act and other repressive laws used to silence critics and restrict fundamental freedoms, legislators from Southeast Asia said today.
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) urged the new Pakatan Harapan government, which took office in May 2018, to fulfil its campaign commitment to repeal a range of draconian laws. Malaysia’s parliament is currently in session until 16 August and is expected to review laws that are incompatible with Malaysia’s international human rights obligations, including the controversial Anti-Fake News Act.
“For years, Malaysian authorities have relied on and misused a catalogue of repressive laws to restrict public debate and jail critics. This new government has the mandate and responsibility to change course by repealing or amending these, including the Sedition Act – it’s an opportunity that cannot be missed,” said APHR Board Member Eva Kusuma Sundari, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
“We urge the Pakatan Harapan coalition to take concrete steps towards legal reform before the current parliamentary session ends. This would send a powerful signal that the new government is serious in its commitments to prioritize human rights and good governance. It would also provide inspiration and belief to democratic actors across our embattled region that the winds of change have turned and are once again blowing in the right direction across Southeast Asia.”
The overly broad Sedition Act can carry a punishment of three to seven years in prison for vaguely worded offences, including acting with “seditious tendency” against the government. The former Barisan National government used the law to harass and imprison critics, including human rights defenders, academics, journalists and lawyers. Despite committing to repeal the law in 2012, the former government instead rushed through amendments to it in 2015 that increased the number of seditious offences.
The Sedition Act has also frequently been used against opposition parliamentarians, undermining the country’s democracy. In 2016, for example, People’s Justice Party MP and APHR member Tian Chua was sentenced to three months in prison and fined more than 400 USD after delivering a speech denouncing racism and corruption.
While it is positive that a number of sedition cases – including against high-profile individuals such as cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar “Zunar” Ulhaque, human rights lawyer N. Surendran and MP R. Sivarasa – have already been withdrawn, APHR today urged the Attorney General’s office to step up its efforts and drop all remaining cases under the Sedition Act against those who have done nothing but peacefully exercise their human rights.
In its election manifesto, the Pakatan Harapan committed to repealing a list of “tyrannical” laws, including the Sedition Act, the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 and the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984. The coalition also pledged to create a climate where media outlets can carry out their work without fear of reprisals.
“Across Southeast Asia, many authoritarian leaders are in a ‘race to the bottom’ when it comes to restricting human rights and the freedom of expression. From Manila, to Yangon, to Bangkok, parliamentarians, journalists and rights defenders are risking their own safety and freedom simply by carrying out their work,” said Teddy Baguilat, APHR Board Member and a member of the House of Representatives in the Philippines.
“People are now looking to Malaysia to set a positive example for the region, and to show that the dangerous trend of shrinking space for rights is reversible. We hope the new government will seize this chance.”
Nov 9, 2020 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA, 29 September 2016 — Parliamentarians from across Southeast Asia today condemned yesterday’s sentencing of Malaysian Member of Parliament Tian Chua under the Sedition Act. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said the decision represented a blow to free expression in Malaysia and continued a concerning trend of persecution of opposition lawmakers by ruling governments around the region.
“Tian Chua’s conviction is yet another example of the Sedition Act being used to silence government criticism and intimidate opposition voices,” said APHR Chairperson Charles Santiago, a fellow member of the Malaysian Parliament.
“The sentence is disproportionate and unwarranted, and is further evidence that the Sedition Act must be scrapped. The law’s provisions are nothing more than a smokescreen for a wider crackdown and a license for the government to persecute those who criticize it. The authorities must allow for free expression, which includes criticism of the government”
MP Tian Chua, who serves as Vice President of the opposition People’s Justice Party (PKR), was sentenced on Wednesday to three months in prison and fined 1,800 Malaysian ringgit under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act for statements made during a public forum in Kuala Lumpur in May 2013, following a hotly contested general election. The judge in the case has granted a stay of the prison sentence, pending an appeal.
“It is distressing to see persecution of elected lawmakers becoming commonplace in ASEAN,” said APHR Vice Chair Mu Sochua, a member of the Cambodian National Assembly. “Tian Chua is not the first member of parliament to face prosecution for his actions as a politician, and I’m afraid he won’t be the last. This is an unmistakable and alarming trend in the region: politicized courts cracking down on free expression and using repressive laws to stifle legitimate opposition.”
A number of opposition parliamentarians have been charged under the Sedition Act in Malaysia. Lawmakers in Cambodia have also faced arrest and imprisonment as a result of politically motivated charges designed to undermine the opposition. Meanwhile, former parliamentarians in Thailand have been arrested by that country’s military government for their political speech.
